Marx still relevant though he missed LV and banking
- By Wan Lixin
0 Comment(s)
Print
E-mail
Shanghai Daily, December 31, 2011
As Marx and Engels claimed, "The bourgeoisie has stripped of its halo every occupation hitherto honored and looked up to with reverent awe. It has converted the physician, the lawyer, the priest, the poet, the man of science, into its paid wage laborers."
The poverty of the working class is becoming manifest, as wealth gaps steadily grow in countries whether "developed," "underdeveloped," or "emerging."
The repeated calls for "consuming more" both embody the "commodity fetish" and widen the wealth gap.
And the inability for the working masses to consume more - as a result of exploitation- must necessarily lead to crisis.
But we have yet to verify again Marxist prediction that the fight over surplus value will lead to "the revolt of the working class."
Marx failed to envision several new developments.
One is the ravaging of our physical environment through reckless growth, so that the environment revolts - or groans - even before the working class.
Another development is that in his analysis Marx focused only on manufacturing.
He failed to see how manufacturing profit would appear to be a trifle beside such inventions as financial derivatives, LV bags, or "Apple."
Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)